Matthew David Oldfield's statement 04/05/07 @ 11.30am
The interview begins at 11.30am on 04/05/07. It is made in the presence of inspector Patricia D.
As with previous statements, the interviewee having no command of the Portuguese language, an interpreter was requested.
It is Angela F.M. and as with all previous statements, the interview was read over and its contents explained. After having shown his agreement with his statements, the interviewee confirmed and signed as accurate, the deed that followed, conjointly with the, "sworn," interpreter. This was normal procedure since the start of the interviews.
In signing, the interpreter commits herself legally concerning the accuracy of her translation.
On the subject, the interviewee says:
It is of his own free will and of his own accord that he adds his statements in the context of the present proceedings. That he has been on holiday in Portugal since April 28th 2007 and that he is staying at the Ocean Club in Praia da Luz. That he expects to return to England on Saturday May 5th 2007. That he has known Madeleine's parents for around five years. That the little girl will be 4 years old next Saturday. That he was spending his holiday with Madeleine and her parents. That they had come as a group and that this group is composed of 9 adults and eight children. The adults are Diane, David and Fiona (children: ***** and ***) Russell and Jane (children **** and ****) Rachael (daughter ******) respectively the wife and the daughter of the interviewee, Gerry and Kate (children: Amelie, Sean - twins aged two - and Madeleine)
That the idea of spending the holiday in Portugal came from the couple David and Fiona and that it is they who reserved the accommodation. That this reservation was made 4 or 5 months ago. That since they arrived in Portugal, until last night, the days were all the same. In the morning, the group woke between 6.30 and 8am and that they all went on foot to the, "Millennium," around 10 minutes from the complex. That only Madeleine's parents, Madeleine and the twins had breakfast in their apartment due to the fact that they have three very small children.
That after breakfast, the children were left at the mini-clubs of the complex. Madeleine and **** go to the mini-club for their age and the other children go to another club for younger children. At lunchtime, the habit was to meet up in one of the apartments occupied by the group to have lunch there with the children. In the afternoon, the children have a sleep in their respective apartments under the supervision of an adult. The other adults do sporting activities within the complex. After their afternoon sleep, the children return to the mini-club
That around 4.45pm, the children eat at the "Tapas," restaurant inside the tourist complex. After eating, the children went to play in a playground in the complex, supervised by adults. At around 8pm, the children went to sleep and at around 8.30pm, the adults went to dinner at the "Tapas" restaurant. While they were eating, the children were sleeping in their respective apartments without the constant supervision of an adult. The interviewee adds that, as the restaurant is around 1 minute from the apartments, randomly, an adult would be going frequently to check on the children in the apartments.
"That, as part of the mini-club activities, Madeleine will have gone to the beach, together with OC employees, he not knowing how many times that had occurred. The rest of the activities were in the interior of the tourist complex.
That the apartment occupied by the parents of Madeleine and their children was immediately before [next to] his."
How the evening progressed.
The interviewee says that the day yesterday was identical to the previous ones and that, as on all other nights, at around 8.45pm, he and his wife left their daughter asleep in the apartment and went to the "Tapas" restaurant.
That the couple Kate and Gerry, Madeleine's parents were already at the restaurant. That they had arrived at the restaurant five minutes before them. The rest of the adults arrived at the restaurant around five minutes after the interviewee and his wife. That the last to arrive at the restaurant was the couple David and Fiona. That the latter arrived at the restaurant at around 9pm.
That around 9.05pm, the interviewee went to the area of the apartments. Notably to the area near the windows of all the children's bedrooms. That he did not hear any noise. That he considered that all the children were sleeping. That all the children's bedroom windows were closed, notably the windows that gave access to the bedroom occupied by Madeleine." . That after this check, he returned to the restaurant, saying that all the children were asleep. However, Gerry, Madeleine's father, went to the area of the apartments to check for himself if the children were asleep. That Gerry would have entered into his apartment and that he checked to make sure that Madeleine and the twins were sleeping in their bedroom, where it was quite dark. The bedroom door was left open [ajar].That five minutes later, Gerry came back to the group in the restaurant.
In answer to a question from the inspector, the interviewee says that Gerry will have gone to check at that time because he will not have heard the witness say that he had been there.
That during the meal, it was usual that every 15 minutes (as on all some of the adults went to the apartments to check if the children were sleeping. That normally this checking was done inside the apartments (Visual checking), but that, to be honest, sometimes this checking was only done from the outside, near the bedroom windows (Auditory checking)
As normal, dinner began at 9.30pm.
At around 9.25pm, the interviewee went into his apartment and Madeleine's apartment to check on the children. He states that the door of the bedroom that was occupied by Madeleine and the twins, was open and that there was enough light in the bedroom for him to see the twins in their cots. That he couldn't see the bed occupied by Madeleine, but as it was all quiet, he deduced that she was sleeping. That the light was not from an artificial source inside the apartment, but perhaps something coming from outside through the bedroom window. That it seemed to him that the shutters of the parents' bedroom window were open without knowing if the window was also open.
The apartment has two bedrooms, a lounge, a small kitchen and a bathroom. The couple's bedroom has a window which is visible from the restaurant. The children's bedroom windows look out on the road outside the tourist complex. Then the interviewee went back to the restaurant.
He states that the bedroom has two windows. The twins occupy two cots placed in the middle of the room and Madeleine occupies a bed pushed against the wall, facing the wall which has the two windows that look out onto the outside of the complex. That the door through which he entered the apartment was closed but not locked. That he doesn't know if it is usual for Madeleine's parents to leave the door closed but not locked because that door is visible from the restaurant.
At around 10pm, Kate, Madeleine's mother, went to her apartment to check on her children. She came back totally shocked, shouting, saying that Madeleine was no longer in her bedroom. At that time all the adults were in the restaurant. Then, the whole group went to Madeleine's bedroom and checked that the twins were sleeping OK. That there was no sign of a burglary in the apartment. Only one window in the childrens' bedroom was open. The window was open and the respective shutter [external blinds].
That during the holiday, and notably during the day yesterday and during dinner, nothing appeared unusual to the interviewee. That there wasn't the slightest change in the behaviour of any of the group, notably in that of Kate or Gerry and their respective children.
Question: And outside the group?
No, there was nothing unusual and he knows of nothing special happening. That the tourist complex was quiet and that nothing unusual happened there. That during the day the children were under the supervision of the respective mini-club staff. That Madeleine is the daughter of both Gerry and Kate. That he doesn't know if Madeleine was suffering from any illness or if she was taking medication. That Madeleine is very lively, obedient, communicative and extrovert. Madeleine's parents are both very friendly, communicative, happy and sensible. That the couple have an excellent relationship with their children, not making any difference in the treatment of each. That the three children were very much wanted by the couple, all three being the result of, "In Vitro," fertilisation.
The interviewee thinks that it is a kidnapping with the intention to demand a ransom from the parents, because these are people who are very comfortable financially.
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